At UN
Charter
Debate, ICP
Asks Venezuela
FM About
Yemen, Live
Blog
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
February 15 --
When the UN
Charter was
debated in the
Security
Council,
chaired by
Venezuela's
Foreign
Minister Delcy
Rodriguez, she
brought up
Syria, the
State of
Palestine and
eight armed
conflicts in
Africa.
Inner City
Press, when
she did a
question and
answer
stakeout,
asked her
about Yemen as
well, a
conflict
decidedly less
spoken about
in the
Security
Council amid
continuing
airstrikes. Video here.
Inside the
Chamber,
Spain's
Ignacio Ybanez
brought up
Burundi, as
did France's
Ambassador
Francois
Delattre
(along with
CAR and Mali,
North Korea,
Syria, Libya
and yes,
Yemen) - but
what has been
done about
Burundi?
New
Zealand's
Ambassador
Gerard van
Bohemen said
the delay of
the Council's
visit to
Burundi by six
months blunted
its impact.
The Free
UN Coalition
for Access
would add, and
the lack
of
transparency.
Russia's
speech went
old school,
back to the UK
bombing Yemen
in 1964, the
US in Grenada
and Nicaragua.
It was unclear
if the US
would invoke a
right of
reply: 68
countries were
signed up to
speak. Number
65 was Turkey,
as signs
across from
the UN said
“Turkey, ISIS,
Stop Killing
Kurds!”
India's
Permanent
Representative
said that
peacekeeping
Troop
Contributing
Countries are
not consulted
enough, and
criticized
that there
must be
consensus to
list groups as
terrorist.
There
will be
more...
On
February 12,
when
Venezuela's
Permanent
Representative
Rafael Ramirez
held a
breakfast
Q&A, Inner
City Press
asked him
about Yemen,
Western
Sahara, the
next UN
Secretary
General, Haiti
and UNSC
transparency.
On Yemen,
Ramirez said
there is a
need for more
open meeting,
citing
February 16
and 17 and the
request for
weekly
meetings going
forward. He
said the media
doesn't cover
Yemen anything
like Syria.
On
Western Sahara
Ramirez told
Inner City
Press that Ban
Ki-moon and
his envoy Ross
should be able
to visit
before April.
When Inner
City Press
asked about
the so-called
"Group of
Friends on
Western
Sahara" which,
without any
African
members,
drafts the
UNSC's
resolutions on
the topic, he
said, "I don't
now what kind
of friends are
these."
Ramirez
said he was
next meeting
with the
President of
the General
Assembly
Mogens
Lykketoft,
that the UNSC
should propose
more than one
candidate to
the GA. Inner
City Press
asked for his
view on
possible
candidate
Susana
Malcorra; he
said running
is a personal
decision.
On Haiti,
Ramirez said
he is worried
about the
parliamentary
coup, citing
the example of
Honduras; he
said he would
wait to see
what CELAC
could
accomplish.
Inner
City Press for
the Free UN
Coalition for
Access
suggested that
Presidents of
the UNSC,
starting with
Ramirez,
should publish
online their
daily schedule
of meetings.
Ramirez to his
credit said it
is a good
idea. We will
be following
this.
Back
on February 1
Inner City
Press asked
then-incoming
President of
the Security
Council
Ramirez about
Yemen. Video
here. As
transcribed by
InnerCityPro.com:
Matthew
Lee, Inner
City Press. On
behalf of the
Free UN
Coalition for
Access, we are
hoping you
will do
question and
answer
stakeouts
after Security
Council
consultations...
On Yemen –
there’s a lot
of talks about
the Syrian
peace talks.
On Yemen we
hear a lot
less. What’s
your
understanding
of the status
of the envoy,
Ismail Ould
Cheikh Ahmed,
bringing the
parties
together? Do
you think the
report on
possible war
crimes by the
Saudi-led
coalition
airstrikes
will be taken
up at any
point by the
Council? And
do you think
that the US,
UK, others
that are
assisting that
coalition – is
there enough
oversight of
the civilian
harm that’s
taking place
in the air
campaign on
Yemen?
Amb Ramirez:
Thank you.
Before
anything else,
I hope as
president of
the Security
Council to
interact with
the press,
because each
time we come
out of a
meeting of the
Security
Council ,
there’s a
healthy
practice,
we’ve always
done it that
way so we’ll
do what’s
possible
without taking
too much time.
On
Yemen, in my
capacity as
president of
the Security
Council
I can say that
all Security
Council
members are
closely
following the
events which
have been
escalating and
have been
affecting the
civilian
population,
which finds
itself in an
awful
situation, in
the bombing
campaign and
the action on
the ground of
the two
parties to the
conflict.
It’s
our hope that
Mr. Ahmed,
when he gives
the briefing,
will give a
better picture
of what’s
happening
there. As
president of
the Security
Council I
can’t say in
advance what
the positions
will be of the
various
members fo the
Security
Council. This
will be in
closed
consultations.
But I
can say that
there is a
growing
concern on
this question,
and what you
say, that the
issue of Syria
is being dealt
with in a
constant basis
and the issue
of Yemen not,
is not the
case with
Yemen, this is
something that
we have
raised. There
is a lack of
balance in
terms of the
way the
Security
Council deals
with some
issues.
Sometimes some
issues are
pushed forward
for political
notice, and
therefore
they’re high
on the agenda,
they’re always
discussed, and
then there are
others which
are on the
back burner,
which
are reserved.
So
today we
proposed that
in the Yemen
briefing the
consultations
on Yemen
should be in
the form of a
briefing, so
that we can
hear about the
situation from
the Special
Envoy of the
Secretary
General, and
that everybody
can hear, and
we can get a
picture of the
situation over
there, what’s
the actual
situation, and
Mr. O’Brien,
we’re also
asking that he
should take
part in that
briefing, so
on behalf of
OCHA he would
be able to
explain what
the situation
is, what is
the
humanitarian
situation in
Yemen.
On
January 27,
Inner City
Press asked UN
Spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric, transcript here:
Inner
City Press: on
Yemen, on this
recommendation
for a
commission of
inquiry into
war crimes,
has the, has
envoy... I've
been looking
at his Twitter
feed, but has
the envoy,
Ismail Ould
Cheikh Ahmed,
does he have
any response
to this report
of, you know,
dozens of war
crimes
[inaudible]?
Note: the
reference was
to Saudi
airstrikes --
a/k/a
inaudible, at
the UN.
Spokesman
Dujarric:
Whether it's
the Special
Envoy or the
Secretary-General,
I think
they've all
been calling
for any crimes
against
humanity, any
violation of
international
law to be
fully
investigated.
Back
on January 19,
Inner City
Press asked
Uruguay's Vice
Minister for
Foreign
Affairs Jose
Luis Cancela,
chairing the
day's Security
Council debate
on Protection
of Civilians,
if the Council
does enough to
protect
civilians in
Yemen,
including
monitoring the
effects of
airstrikes by
the Saudi-led
coalition. Video here.
Cancela
diplomatically
replied that
he was not
there to
comment on
specific
countries --
inside the
Council, there
was much talk
of Syria, a
smattering on
Burundi -- but
turned the
question
toward not
hitting
schools and
hospitals,
both of which
have happened
in Yemen.
According
to IOCA's
ground rules
published by
Inner City
Press, there
will be no
press access,
other than
photographs
with the
Special Envoy
at the start.
Delegates
shall not use
social media.
Only the
Special
Adviser can
speak
publicly, and
he is supposed
to be seen has
neutral. There
are “Ground
Rules,” also
put online by
Inner City
Press here.
The
ground rules
include that
the
delegations
should not
speak with the
media, or use
social media.
On December 4,
Inner City
Press asked UN
Deputy
Spokesperson
Farhan Haq
about these
proposals: are
they normal
for the UN?
Haq said he
would not
comment on
leaks. Video
here.
On
June 25, Inner
City Press
asked new UN
aid chief
Stephen
O'Brien three
questions
about Yemen:
cholera, the
destruction of
ambulances in
Sa'ada and
about
international
staff. Video
here.
O'Brien
replied that
cholera is a
risk; he had
no information
on WHO it was
that destroyed
the ambulances
in Sa'ada (we
can guess.) On
international
staff, which
the UN
evacuated
earlier, he
spoke of a
rise from 17
to 70, with
the goal of
getting to
200. He would
not say if
they are
anywhere in
the country
outside of
Sana'a, citing
security. But
at least he
spoke - the Free UN Coalition for Access thanked
him.
, 
